Here are a few examples of the kind of free stuff and money-makers out there...
A lot of times, the coupon mom blog sites will post links to various freebies, such as company websites where you can sign up to receive free samples or coupons for free items. I have already received tons of free samples in the mail, including diapers, wipes, cereal, bodywash, shampoo, lip balm, suncare products, etc...just by signing up for these websites. Now, I mentioned in one of my earlier ads that it's a GOOD idea to set up an alternate email account just for such offers, because we all know how much spam can be associated with offers like this. You register with one site, and mysteriously start getting about 10 spam emails a day...no fun. So far, the companies I've been signing up with have been great. I have yet to receive a single spam mail. BUT, I wouldn't take any chances if I were you. Head HERE to read my post about signing up for online offers.
There are also sites with contests where if you're one of the first 1,000, 5,000, 10,000 (whatever the number is) people to register, you will get something for free. One such contest that is going on through September is Free Chocolate Friday, where the first 250,000 people to register each Friday get a free Mars candy bar (they send a coupon in the mail). I have already received 8 of these! You can register up to 4 times per Friday per household (for each different email address), so make sure you go there NOW and register! Remember, it's only the first 250,000 people!
There are plenty of these such sweepstakes and contests...I usually find them just by posts on athriftymom.com, fabulesslyfrugal.com, or a number of other coupon-mom blog sites.
There are also freebies you can get by buying a certain product and sending in a mail-in rebate (MIR) where they will reimburse you the full price of the product. There are two of these in the last couple of months' inserts that I've found (there might be more that I didn't notice because they weren't for products I would use).
The Swiss Tea was from SS 5/17 and expires 6/30. The Windex Wipes I THINK is from the SS 5/10, but I can't be sure on that. Sorry! You can only do one per household, so share the extras with friends or family! Speaking of which...if anyone wants one of these let me know...I have four more of each. :) Take advantage of these offers...sure you pay for it out of pocket, but you get reimbursed the full amount. You just send the form in along with the UPC code from the product and your receipt, and they'll send you a refund check. (I recommend making copies of everything for your own records, so that if you have any issues, you have the information needed to provide the company if need be.)Yet another way to get free stuff is by using Walgreens' register rewards (RR) program. Every week (and in some cases some items will have a register reward valid for the whole month) Wags will have different items for which you will receive RR's upon purchase. Now, remember, RR's are catalina coupons that print AFTER you purchase qualifying items. They are considered a manufacturer coupon, and can be used on a future purchase at Wags. So, for example, recently they had Tresseme hair products which had a RR attached to them for "Buy 3/$12 and get a $5 RR." So...I bought three, but then used three $1/1 coupons, bringing it down to 3/$9, and a $3 off your purchase (which was a coupon they had out for a while at the new store on the Blvd due to it's grand opening) which brought it down to 3/$6 but then I got a RR back for $5.00. Essentially that made them $.33 a piece. In that instance, they aren't exactly free (but still a great price!) but there are times when Wags does deals where if you buy a certain product, you get back that exact amount in RR's! This week, for example, they had St. Ives body wash for $2.99, but you got a $2.99 RR back! So it was essentially free!
They do deals like this quite often, so make sure to check their weekly ads that come in the paper. Or, you can check them out HERE online. The only catch to these is you cannot use a RR from a particular purchased product to buy another of the same and receive another RR. So I couldn't then use that $3 RR I got back after purchasing the St. Ives to buy another and get another RR. I could still BUY the St. Ives with the RR, but I wouldn't receive another RR following it. Get it? Also, another note to mention here is that when I purchased my St. Ives, I tried to use an RR that I received a couple weeks ago from a different promo/product, and I did not receive an RR. I asked the manager about it and he said that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, and he wishes there was more he could tell me. I explained that I have used RR's from previous promos to buy future RR promo products and it's worked just fine, and again, the answer was, it's a lottery. He did refund my RR and let me repurchase the product without it, and I got my RR.Well, after that, I did a little experiment and found out that if you purchase another item in the transaction (even if it's just a $.25 candy) it will accept the RR and still give you your RR. When I tried to purchase only the St. Ives with a RR it didn't spit another one out (even though it was from a different promo/product), but when I purchased a St. Ives AND a $.35 candy...it worked! So, I could be wrong, but I think as long as you have another item in your transaction, it will let you use the RR. Let me know if you have an experience to the contrary. Maybe we can figure it out.
RiteAid also does a great rebate program called Single Check Rebates (SCR). Go HERE to read my post about shopping at RiteAid and using their SCR program. You can MANY times score free stuff there or even make money!
Ok, so those are some of the ways to get freebies. Now, would you believe that sometimes you can actually get PAID to purchase an item? Yup. You better believe it. :) Here's an example...for that same St. Ives that I bought as part of the Wags RR promo, there was a $2/1 St. Ives coupon in a previous months insert. Unfortunately, Idaho did not get this coupon (grr), but many other areas did. Now, if you were lucky enough to get one of these, you could go to Wags, buy that $2.99 body wash, use your $2/1 coupon, which would bring it down to $.99. Then, you get a $3 RR, and voila! You just got paid $2 to buy that product! Crazy, huh? I do not know how often deals like that happen, but when they do, take advantage of it!
Alright, another way that I have gotten paid to buy a product was when I recently bought a DiGiorno Flatbread Melt that was marked down to $2.50 on sale at Albies. Well, I went to the store with a $2.50/1 coupon that I had gotten off of the interenet, making it FREE. When I went to pull it out of the freezer at Albies, I noticed a tearpad with coupons for a mail-in rebate! What luck! So, I purchased the item, used my $2.50/1 coupon to make it free, then upon returning home, filled out the form and sent it, with all of the other necessary info in, and Wednesday, I received my check in the mail for $2.50!
Ok, so those are some of the ways to get freebies. Now, would you believe that sometimes you can actually get PAID to purchase an item? Yup. You better believe it. :) Here's an example...for that same St. Ives that I bought as part of the Wags RR promo, there was a $2/1 St. Ives coupon in a previous months insert. Unfortunately, Idaho did not get this coupon (grr), but many other areas did. Now, if you were lucky enough to get one of these, you could go to Wags, buy that $2.99 body wash, use your $2/1 coupon, which would bring it down to $.99. Then, you get a $3 RR, and voila! You just got paid $2 to buy that product! Crazy, huh? I do not know how often deals like that happen, but when they do, take advantage of it!
Alright, another way that I have gotten paid to buy a product was when I recently bought a DiGiorno Flatbread Melt that was marked down to $2.50 on sale at Albies. Well, I went to the store with a $2.50/1 coupon that I had gotten off of the interenet, making it FREE. When I went to pull it out of the freezer at Albies, I noticed a tearpad with coupons for a mail-in rebate! What luck! So, I purchased the item, used my $2.50/1 coupon to make it free, then upon returning home, filled out the form and sent it, with all of the other necessary info in, and Wednesday, I received my check in the mail for $2.50!
Pretty awesome huh? So keep your eyes peeled for all kinds of possibilities out there. If I ever come across great freebies or money makers, I will try to post them on my site and spread the word. If you guys come across any, be sure to leave a comment letting us know! :)
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